Shift8, ever flown in bad weather? It's pretty common. How well will the F35 work then, when it has a huge reliance on sensors that are optical in order to keep its radar off and stay stealthy? Just interested in your opinion of how weather is going to degrade the high card the F35 has in its deck, it's ability to use long range non detectable sensors to get BVR kills.
Making broad sweeping statements such as "Awacs won't be required"...that's getting a tad ridiculous. How can YOU know that? Are you privy to all the doctrine planned by the USAF/USN for air combat with the F35? I somehow doubt the USAF is going to be withdrawing its primary ISR asset from modern battlefields because you think the F35 is so amazing it doesn't need that early warning/intel any longer and go can go toe to toe with gen 4+ peer nation threats without AWACS info and direction. Let me guess...the 3 "F16 pilots" regularly consulted with.
If you don't mind, who exactly are these pilots, what squadron do they fly with, etc? If these F16 pilots are constantly going to be your fall back position for defending any of your theories, the least you can do is identify them, or at least where they are operating at the moment, and how you know and consult exactly "three" of them, and so forth. It's not classified information or anything. Gscholz has identified how he met the pilot he's getting his information from. I've done the same, name, rank, and experience. If you're going to make statements based on information you're claiming they've told you, the least you can do is identify who is giving you that info.
Again, my friend since grade school is now a Major, up for light Colonel now, and running the fighter test establishment for the RCAF, responsible for all new tactics, training, systems, weapons and employment, all of it. Many thousands of hours+ total, 2500 alone in the legacy Hornet, Gripen, F16 and Superhornet tours, and several months training at the F35 international training center in the USA. Jason Paquin, first picture that comes up with google, many more on his FB page airborne and at various fighter ex places and so on.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3122983832/d65192b53da2ffaddecd3a810c717909.jpeg
How about casting some light on your 3 F16 contacts regularly consulted with and giving you all this positive F35 information.
So you misunderstood my statement about AWAC's. I meant to imply that a F-35 could fight without AWAC's, not that it is not a tactical requirement in general. Just like any other fighter, the F-35 can do combat on its own if it needs to. Far more so, since it has better sensors etc.
As for bad weather, Radar works just fine in bad weather. The F-35s radar is LPI, so it isnt going to need to fly around with it radar off all the time. 2nd, there is DAS. IR works in bad weather as well. Whatever limitations theses systems have, I'd imagine that the plane with the newest and most sophisticated systems will have the better SA. Every fighters performance is degraded if you throw a work case scenario at it, I might add. So too would it be with the ability to dogfight.......
You are being somewhat unreasonable regarding my sources. I didn't, and most likely would not have, brought them up until eagle jumped in here and started using his position to strong arm the discussion. In that context I brought them up merely to demonstrated that my opinion does not exist in a vacuum. They are hardly my only source of information, it is hard to believe you are not being disingenuous when you insinuate that I ever implied that. There is plenty of available information on much of what has been discussed here. Some of the information his behind some rather hefty paywalls. In addition of peer-review papers, and other documents, there is a whole host of information I have scoured through. This includes talking to engineers etc.
As for those pilots, I am not going to disclose names. These people have been kind enough to answer my many questions, and I am not about to start throwing their names around the internet. Nor will I pester them for permission, as Im not about to bother them over some forum discussion. I very much like getting info from them, and do not want them to see me as an annoyance. One of them is a member of a online squadron I fly in, and he flew in desert storm. One is a fairly public figure who currently who flew F-16's back in the 1990's and his main job was A2A. And the third is a rather new acquaintance who has flown in at least 2 red flags and currently instructs. While I was in the Navy, I also had access to the pilots on board my ship at the time. If that is not enough information for you, then I cant help you ethically. I don't know, nor do I care to know, the names of your sources. Ill take your word for it, as I already have. Not to mention that it is essentially beyond a doubt that the overwhelming professional opinion in agreement with me. And Im not talking only pilots. That includes generals, engineers, think tanks etc.
The general assumption that dog fighting will always be a thing is not a reasonable position. And is this position that seems to be the basis for many peoples arguments not only here, but in general. Some of you speak of the merge as if it some kind of scientific law.
It is not a question of IF dog fighting will eventually go away, but WHEN. WHEN is a simple matter of WHEN weapons systems and sensors are up to the task. The subject of this discussion should be IF that has happened. Not this nonsensical faux military science that is based in layman witticisms. The nature of warfare is always changing. Air warfare has only be around for about 100 years. Missile combat for even less than that. Look at how much other types of combat have changes over the centuries. Air war has changes a ton just even over its short history. We went from biplanes to Mach 2 jets for heavens sake. (and Gman, I am not talking about you here. This is more a general impression of the F-35 debate as a whole)
Remove the F-35 in general for a second here.
This argument is more about BVR and stealth, which are the two main things the F-35 philosophy relies upon. Both of these things are the focus of every major AF in the world. BVR has only been become a larger and larger part of air warfare. Since even the F-15 Eagle, BVR has been a major and primary focus. Then the F-22 and so on. Even nations that cannot in reality afford to make stealth jets are attempting to do so. If stealth and BVR are so crap, it sure seems odd that everyone seems to want more of them. Money talks.
Did any of you even watch the video I posted? (aside from GMan, as he posted the paper its based on some time ago)
